TV dramas use similar names for main characters

They sound like names for brothers, but they are characters appearing in different TV dramas in Korea. Jang Tae-san (played by Lee Joon-gi) is the main character in MBC TVs Wednesday and Thursday drama series "Two Weeks". He is a fugitive who is mistakenly charged for murder, and struggles to save his daughter. Jang Tae-joo (played by Go Soo) is the main character in SBS TVs Monday and Tuesday drama series "Empire of Gold", and is an ambitious man who seeks a hostile takeover of a chaebol enterprise to take revenge for his father who died due to false allegations.

Jang Tae-ha (played by Park Sang-min) is a character of hard-headed conglomerate owner on MBC TVs weekend drama series Scandal. They come to have similar names because all of them are serious and strong characters, and the screenplay writers sought to pick names suitable for such characters.

Characters in TV dramas generally get names that represent the roles in the drama. Notably, characters in the dramas based on screenplays by writer Moon Yeong-ran enable viewers to instantly learn the personality of characters upon hearing the name of characters. "The Wang Family", a weekend TV drama series on KBS TV, comes with characters of the father named Wang Bong (played by Jang Yong) who always sacrifices for his family, and the mother named Lee Ang-geum (played by Kim Hae-sook), who has deep regret for her lifetime sacrifice to support her family. Their children are named Wang Soo-bak (played by Oh Hyun-kyung), Wang Ho-bak (played by Lee Tae-ran), Wang Gwang-bak (played by Lee Yoon-ji), Wang Hae-bak (played by Moon Ga-young), and Wang Dae-bak (played by Choi Won-hong), which are compatible with the nature of the respective characters.

Screenplay writer Im Sung-han famous for her distinctive personality, gives special names to characters in her dramas, including Eun Ariyeong, Boo Yong-hwa, Goo Wang-mo, and Boo Gil-la, which are so strange that viewers can remember once they hear the names. The main character of "Princess Aurora - Drama", a weekday drama series on MBC TV, comes with main characters Aurora (played by Jeon So-min) and Hwang Ma-ma (played by Oh Chang-suk). The Hong sisters (Hong Jeong-eun and Hong Mi-ran), the screenplay writer of "Master's Sun", the Wednesday and Thursday drama series on SBS TV, comes with rare family names such as Dokgo, Goo, Tae, Seong, and Na. In some cases, the name of a sponsor company was revealed through the name of the main character, causing controversy.

"Nice Guy", which aired on KBS TV last year, sparked controversy because the main character Kang Ma-ru (played by Song Joong-ki) had the same first name as Chicken Maru, a sponsor of the drama.

- Stay on topic and do not spam.
- Post only in English, as this is an English language community.
- Do not request or mention illegal download/streaming services.
- Do not post sexist, racist, homophobic or other hateful and discriminatory content.
- Refrain from abusive language.
- No graphic content allowed.
- Respect the right of other users to share their opinion. Arguments are welcome, fights are not.

Comments which break the rules will be moderated or erased. Repeated rule breaking will result in warnings followed by blacklisting upon non-compliance.

Subscribe to HanCinema Pure to remove ads from the website (not for episode and movie videos) for US$0.99 monthly or US$7.99 yearly (you can cancel anytime).
The first step is to be a member, please click here : Sign up, then a subscribe button will show up.